Opera Great Placido Doming​o Apologizes To The Women He Hurt

LOS ANGELES, CA — After spending months on the defensive over a steady drip of sexual misconduct allegations, opera star Placido Domingo apologized for his behavior, it was reported Tuesday.

The fallen opera star was forced to resign as general manager of Los Angeles Opera in October, but he denied the allegations and vowed to clear his name. This week, he was singing a different tune.

"I have taken time over the last several months to reflect on the allegations that various colleagues of mine have made against me. I respect that these women finally felt comfortable enough to speak out, and I want them to know that I am truly sorry for the hurt that I caused them," Domingo said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times Monday night.

"I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I have grown from this experience. I understand now that some women may have feared expressing themselves honestly because of a concern that their careers would be adversely affected if they did so. While that was never my intention, no one should ever be made to feel that way," he said.

Domingo issued the statement as the American Guild of Musical Artists, which represents opera performers, was reportedly preparing to release findings of an ongoing investigation. It's expected to be damning.

The Associated Press, citing anonymous sources, said guild lawyers spoke with more than two dozen people who said they were harassed or had witnessed improper behavior by Domingo. The guild concluded that the investigation "showed a clear pattern of sexual misconduct and abuse of power by Domingo spanning at least two decades," according to the AP.

Some of the allegations against Domingo date back to his tenure at Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. Domingo was general director of Los Angeles Opera, a company he helped found, from 2003 to last year and performed more than 300 times in 31 roles. The company opened an investigation into his conduct and invited employees to be interviewed, but has not yet announced any findings.

President and Chief Executive Christopher Koelsch has assumed the top post of the company, and Domingo has gone on to perform to warm receptions in Europe.

Domingo's spectacular downfall began with a series of stories by the Associated Press , outlining the open secret of Domingo's alleged abuses within the opera world.

Domingo's spokeswoman had called the allegations in the AP's stories "riddled with inconsistencies" and "in many ways, simply incorrect," but has offered no specifics.

“The ongoing campaign by the AP to denigrate Placido Domingo is not only inaccurate but unethical. These new claims are riddled with inconsistencies and, as with the first story, in many ways, simply incorrect,” spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer told the Associated Press. “Due to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment on specifics, but we strongly dispute the misleading picture that the AP is attempting to paint of Mr. Domingo.”

In AP's initial Aug. 13 story , numerous women accused the long- married, Spanish-born superstar of sexual harassment or inappropriate, sexually charged behavior and of sometimes damaging their careers if they rejected him.

In a follow-up story, singer Angela Turner Wilson told the AP that Domingo reached into her robe and forcefully grabbed her breast in a makeup room during a 1999 production at the Washington Opera, as the company was then called.

She said she was motivated to come forward with her story after Domingo publicly defended himself, arguing it was unfair to judge him today for past acts governed by old standards of conduct. He further claimed that all his sexual encounters were consensual.

“What woman would ever want him to grab their breast? And it hurt,” Wilson told the Associated Press. “Then I had to go on stage and act like I was in love with him.”

Several sources told the Associated Press Domingo's conduct was egregious during his tenure with the Los Angeles Opera.

Melinda McLain, a former production coordinator at LA Opera told the AP she tried to avoid having Domingo in rehearsal rooms alone with young singers, and tried to give him male dressers only.

“We created these elaborate schemes for keeping him away from particular singers,” McLain told AP. “I never would have sent any woman of any sort into his dressing room.”

She also invited Domingo’s wife, Marta, to attend company parties because the famed tenor behaved in front of his wife.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.